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Murder hearing Monday

The man accused of brutally murdering his roommate in February is scheduled to be in superior court on Monday for a pre-trial hearing.

Michael Joseph Anderson, 19, is charged with murdering and mutilating the body of Stephen Starr, his roommate, earlier this year. Anderson has been in Catawba County Jail since Feb. 14.

During a 911 call the day of the murder, Anderson confessed to shooting Starr with a shotgun before using an axe to mutilate the victim's body.

Anderson also told 911 dispatchers he "took some pills" that made him "go mad." A native of Kings Mountain, Anderson is charged with first-degree murder for the crime that occurred in a Ruth Drive home.

Anderson admitted to 911 dispatchers that after he shot the victim three times, he mutilated him "very badly" and left an axe in his stomach. Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid previously described the murder scene as "probably one of the nastiest crime scenes I've been to."

Anderson, according to a recording of his phone conversation with 911 dispatchers, waited until Starr was asleep before he murdered the 36-year-old man. He also said he "overdosed in Mucinex DM" which "makes him feel a little weird."

A report by the state medical examiner showed Starr's cause of death to be wounds to the head and body from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .45-caliber handgun. The medical examiner also reported "words carved into skin on abdomen."

In May, prosecutors with the District 25 Attorney’s Office said they would not seek the death penalty for Anderson because of a lack of capital aggravating factors.